Is McGregor Headed Back Into Boxing After UFC 246?

McGregor, 31, from Dublin, is 0-1 as a professional boxer, but it appears the MMA star plans to head back to the boxing ring again in the near future.

McGregor told the media earlier this week at Wednesday’s UFC 246 press conference that one of the goals he had moving forward was winning a world title in boxing. That could make Pacquiao the ideal opponent for McGregor’s next boxing venture, perhaps even beyond getting a rematch against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Mayweather defeated McGregor in August 2017 in one of the best-selling boxing pay-per-view events ever. But Mayweather retired after the fight, while Pacquiao remains active.

Pacquiao defeated Keith Thurman in July to capture the WBA welterweight title, so it probably makes more sense for McGregor to target Pacquiao over Mayweather given the Irishman’s stated goal of capturing gold in boxing.

Moreover, Pacquiao almost rivals Mayweather in star power.

In fact, 2015’s Mayweather-Pacquiao superfight was the best-selling boxing PPV event in history, besting even Mayweather-McGregor and any UFC PPV event to date. That means Pacquiao vs. McGregor would likely be a huge success in terms of buyrate. So both fighters would make a substantial amount of money for the outing, with perhaps only each man luring Mayweather into separate rematches the better offer from that point of view.

Mayweather defeated Pacquiao via decision in 2015.

Conor Must First Lasso ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone

Before landing any big fight next, McGregor must first defeat Cerrone at UFC 246.

While McGregor is favored in the fight, Cerrone is one of the toughest contenders in the UFC. Additionally, McGregor hasn’t won a fight with the company since 2016 and hasn’t been all that active over the last few years.

In fact, McGregor’s last two fights, against Mayweather in 2017 and UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in 2018, might have taken more out of McGregor than even he knows at the point.

Is McGregor finished as an elite fighter? UFC 246 will help find that answer out.

Besides McGregor seems to be focusing much of his attention on future fights such as Mayweather or Pacquiao inside boxing rings and Jorge Masvidal or Kamaru Usman in the Octagon. Perhaps the former UFC “champ champ” is looking too much at his future plans and not enough at how dangerous Cerrone is to them.

Regardless, McGregor against any of the fighters he’s targeting next (assuming he beats Cerrone) are intriguing options, and Pacquiao might be the most interesting of all.